Vandalism affects power supply in western region
The Electricity Regulatory Authority (ERA) has raised concerns over the increasing incidents of vandalism across Uganda which have severely affected power supply and left many communities grappling with frequent outages.
Speaking during a stakeholder engagement with security committees and local leaders at ERA’s Western Regional Offices in Booma, Mbarara City, on Monday, Shallot Kyohirwe, the Head of Legal Affairs at ERA, attributed the persistent vandalism to lack of awareness among Ugandans about the legal consequences. “Ignorance of the law continues to fuel vandalism, and despite efforts to curb it, the numbers remain alarmingly high,” she stated.
Kyohirwe revealed that only six vandals were prosecuted last year emphasizing that the actual incidents far exceed the legal actions taken so far.
During the meeting, Catherine Kamwine Hellen, the Mbarara City Resident City Commissioner (RCC), echoed the concerns highlighting that vandalism of power lines remains rampant within the region. She called upon the public to take responsibility for safeguarding government infrastructure and warned those involved in such criminal acts to cease immediately.
The authorities stressed the importance of community involvement in protecting critical national assets and pledged to strengthen enforcement measures to combat vandalism and ensure reliable electricity supply for all Ugandans.
